Phase
Labour Act 93/2014, 127/17, 98/19, 151/22, 64/23; Bankruptcy Act 71/2015, 104/17, 36/22; Regulation on the contents and forms which are submitted in the pre-bankruptcy and bankruptcy procedure 107/2015, 67/19, 54/22
Native name
Zakon o radu 93/2014, 127/17, 98/19, 151/22, 64/23; Stečajni zakon 71/2015, 104/17, 36/22; Pravilnik o sadržaju i obliku obrazaca na kojima se podnose podnesci u predstečajnom i stečajnom postupku 107/2015, 67/19, 54/22
Type
Notice period to employees
Added to database
08 May 2015

Article

Labour Act: Article 121, 122; Bankruptcy Act: Article 119; Regulation on the contents and forms which are submitted in the pre-bankruptcy and bankruptcy procedure: Article 1


Description

According to amendments to the Labor Act (NN 151/22), there were significant changes in Article 121, which stipulates the notice period to employees, although the main meaning has been retained. The notice period begins on the day on which the written notice of termination of the employment contract is delivered to the employee. The notice period for a worker who is temporarily incapacitated for work at the time of delivery of the decision on dismissal shall start from the date of cessation of his or her temporary incapacity for work. The notice is suspended during the following circumstances:

  1. pregnancy,
  2. the use of maternal, parental, adoptive and paternity leave or leave which, in terms of content and manner of use, is equivalent to the right to paternity leave, part-time work, part-time work for the purpose of increased child care, leave of a pregnant worker, leave of a worker who has given birth or a worker who is breastfeeding a child and leave or part-time work for the purpose of nursing care and care of a child with severe developmental disabilities in accordance with the regulation on maternal and parental benefits
  3. temporary incapacity for work during treatment or recovery from an injury at work or an occupational disease
  4. performing the duties and rights of citizens serving in national defense forces.

The notice period runs in the event of termination of the worker's employment contract during the liquidation or dissolution proceedings of the company by summary proceedings without liquidation in accordance with the company regulation. The notice period shall not run during the period of temporary incapacity for work. The notice period shall run during the period of temporary incapacity for work of a worker whose employment contract was terminated by the employer before the beginning of that period and with that decision, the worker was released from the obligation to work within the notice period, unless otherwise regulated by a collective agreement, an working regulation or an employment contract. Furthermore, the notice period shall run during annual leave and paid leave. If there has been an interruption of the period of notice due to temporary incapacity for work of a worker who has not been released from the obligation to work by the employer, the employment relationship with that worker shall be terminated at the latest six months after the date of the beginning of the notice period.

In case of ordinary dismissal (Labor Act (NN 151/22), Article 122 defines that the length of the notice period depends on the duration of the employment relationship. The standard notice period lasts:

(1) In the case of regular notice, the notice period shall be at least: 1) two weeks, if the worker continuously spent less than one year in employment relationship with the same employer 2) one month, if the worker continuously spent one year in employment relationship with the same employer 3) one month and two weeks, if the worker continuously spent two years in employment relationship with the same employer 4) two months, if the worker continuously spent five years in employment relationship with the same employer 5) two months and two weeks, if the worker continuously spent ten years in employment relationship with the same employer 6) three months, if the worker continuously spent twenty years in employment relationship with the same employer. (2) The notice period referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be increased by two weeks if the worker has reached the age of fifty, and by one month if he or she has reached the age of fifty-five. (3) A worker whose employment contract is terminated due to a breach of an employment obligation (notice due to the misconduct of the worker) shall be given a notice period of half of the notice periods set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article. (4) The employer shall pay the worker who is exempt from the obligation to work during the notice period the salary compensation and recognize all other rights as if he or she had worked until the expiry of the notice period. (5) During the notice period, the worker shall be entitled to be absent from work for at least four hours a week for the purpose of seeking new employment. (6) A collective agreement or employment contract may provide for a shorter notice period for the worker than for the employer than the deadline specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, in the case when the worker terminates the employment contract. (7) If the worker terminates the employment contract, the notice period may not exceed one month, if he or she has a particularly important reason for doing so. (8) By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, a worker who, at the time of termination of the employment contract has reached 65 years of age and 15 years of pensionable service, shall not be entitled to a notice period.


Commentary

The notice periods apply with regular redundancy, while the extraordinary redundancy comes into effect at the time of delivery. This is a general regulation applicable when employers terminate employment contracts and it is not specific to restructuring. It appears that the system is applied successfully in most cases.

Rozman (2023) explains that as long as the circumstances mentioned in Article 121 persist (pregnancy; the use of maternal, parental, adoptive and paternity leave; leave of a pregnant worker and others like temporary incapacity for work during treatment or recovery from an injury at work or an occupational disease), the notice period does not run. However, it starts to run again after the end of those circumstances. This means that when the worker is going to be dismissed, the notice period is interrupted due to specific circumstances. After the end of these specific circumstances (e.g. parental leave ends), the first day after that the notice period resumes.


Additional metadata

Cost covered by
None
Involved actors other than national government
National government
Involvement (others)
None
Thresholds
Affected employees: No, applicable in all circumstances
Company size: No, applicable in all circumstances
Additional information: No, applicable in all circumstances

Citation

Eurofound (2015), Croatia: Notice period to employees, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/notice-period-to-employees/croatia

Download as PDF